Worlds Apart
by feari teiru
Summary: They'd been given a chance and they were sure as hell going to take it


**Worlds Apart**

**summary; **they'd been given a chance and they were sure as hell going to take it

**1; **

They supposed the town must have been quite a nice place to live, once upon a time. A town where laughter rang freely throughout the quaint little streets, a town where people felt safe to walk to the streets at all hours. A town where memories were made. Happy memories.

Sting frowned as he balanced along the edge of what once must've been a flowing river, "do you even know where we're going?"

"Mm," Rogue mumbled, eyes trained on the weathered piece of paper in his hands, "straight ahead 'parently."

"It's getting dark."

"I know."

"Then _hurry_."

Rogue turned to glare up at his friend before shaking his head and turning his attention back to the paper in his hands, "careful, you're gonna fall."

"Into _what_," Sting huffed, "this town is dried up and dead, just like every other town around here. We've been set up."

"Shut _up_."

The pair continued walking along the main road, with Sting balancing along the walls of the river grumbling light insults and Rogue with his head buried in the piece of paper, throwing an occasional "shut _up_" or "be _careful_, you're going to fall" every now and then.

"We're here," Rogue muttered, coming to a halt outside what he imagined would have been a large building at one point in time. The roof had been destroyed, along with the large perimeter surrounding it. Broken chairs and tables littered the courtyard they tentatively strode across as they made their way to the entrance. The door was tattered, but surprisingly still standing.

"Where the hell are we?"

"Dunno. She just said to come here."

"The girl you _dreamed _about?" Sting sniggered as they pushed open the door, stepping into the remains of what was probably once a very grand hall. Now, rubble lay strewn across the floor from the destroyed roof and walls.

"I didn't dream about her," Rogue sniffed, tired of this argument, "she was _there_."

Sting rolled his eyes, "she's not here _now_, is she?"

"My, my you _are _just as impatient as I remembered."

The boys leapt backwards as the soft voice spoke out, ringing oddly loudly through the otherwise empty hall.

She was sat on top of a pile of rubble, legs swinging easily in the air as she watched them with a serene smile on her face, "you're very late." With ease, she hopped down from her pile and flitted towards them, seemingly not bothered by the shards and rocks hitting her bare toes.

"Who the hell is this kid?" Sting snapped as she approached.

She was _tiny_. Even smaller than he, and he wasn't a particularly tall ten year old.

"The lady," Rogue mumbled, "from my…"

"From your dream?"

"Mm!"

The girl tutted, "it wasn't a dream, why does everyone always think it's a dream? It was a tel-_hey_!"

Sting had crouched down slightly so they were eye to eye and prodded her firmly in the chest, "listen kid, this isn't time for games. There's _dragons_ around and if yo-_hey!"_

She prodded him back. Twice.

"Do _not_ prod me Sting," she reprimanded, sounding far older than her years, "goodness, I'd forgotten how hyperactive you were. Rogue how _do _you put up with him?"

Sting blinked.

Rogue stammered.

She didn't appear to care for an answer, "well, come on then. As Sting rightfully said, there are dragons nearby, _very _close actually. So we better get you going."

"Going _where_?" Rogue asked.

"To the past of course," she sighed, almost rolling her eyes as she stood back from them.

"To the…?"

"The _past_," she huffed again, "_goodness_, I thought you were both sharper than this! Your mothers would have cottoned on by now, that's fo-" she paused suddenly, her gaze softening as she glanced at the boys who had both become oddly quiet.

"Our...mothers?" Sting muttered, "you...you knew them?"

She sighed and took a step forwards, placing her hands on both of their shoulders and squeezing gently, "I _did_. And it was a pleasure."

Rogue sniffed and turned his head away, using his longer locks to cover his eyes.

"Don't cry Rogue," she said quietly, "you've been through a lot. You both have a-"

"You don't know what we've been through!" Sting snapped, not bothering to hide his own tears, "you're just some...some _weirdo_ who doesn't understand anything!"

She smiled, "fair. Though I do know loss, just as well as you. I know how it feels to be young, and alone. Which is why I've come to help."

"By sending us to the past?" Rogue mumbled, his voice thick with unshed tears, "you're _crazy_."

She laughed this time, "it's certainly been a while since I've heard _that_. I may very well be, but I've made up my mind. You two little boys," she squeezed their shoulders, "are our last hope."

Sting scoffed, "we need to get going Rogue, there's dragons an-"

"Yes! The dragons, you have such a problem with the dragons," she sighed impatiently, "wouldn't you like a world _without _dragons? A world where you're not alone? A world where every other building hasn't been reduced to this mess? A world where you don't have to be afraid."

"We're _not _afraid!"

"Well you can continue with that," she snapped lightly, "but not here, oh no...not here, not anymore. I did promise to look out for you two, didn't I?"

Sting and Rogue exchanged a glance, "who _are _you?" they said unison, peering at her curiously.

She smiled, a smile so bright it _blinded _them, "I," she said slowly, her whole body beginning to glow, "I am Mavis. And I am sending you home."

The glow covering her body seemed to expand and stretch out, wrapping itself around them tightly. With each passing second, Mavis seemed to get more and more distant, the bright glow intensifying as it went.

"Now boys," she cooed, her voice echoing loudly around the bubble of brightness they'd found themselves wrapped around, "don't waste this opportunity. Try to change something. Try to _save _them."

And then...she was gone.

And with a loud bang, and a shriek of fear from both boys...so were they.

.

.

.

"Feels weird, huh?"

"So fucking weird."

It had taken him a while to cotton on. It had taken them _both _a while actually. Neither of them had very good memories of their parents. Sting remembered next to nothing, save for a mess of shockingly pink hair and "a smile that could light up the sky at midnight", whereas Rogue remembered their laughter. A strange high pitched laugh and a soft, light tinkle. So, they decided they couldn't be blamed _entirely _for not realising sooner.

Sting blew out a large breath as he leaned backwards on his chair, causing the legs to lift up ever so slightly, his eyes trained on the pair seated not far away. His hair stood out for miles and Sting found himself wondering how he'd been so _stupid_. How he hadn't managed to piece together the salmon coloured hair from his memories and the man before him was somewhat embarrassing. And _her_. His eyes narrowed slightly as he turned her attention to her. She chose that moment to laugh, and he wondered how on _earth _he'd been so obtuse. Pearly whites flashed as she threw her head back, her mouth open wide as her chuckle fell from her lips. Her smile almost blinded him.

Rogue's attention was trained on a separate corner of the room, a rounded table held two men he vaguely recognised, a small Exceed and _them_. She was animatedly discussing something with the two men and _he _was sat, leaning against the wall, his arms crossed tightly over his chest, a look of faux disinterest plastered on his face. She turned around slightly and mumbled something he didn't quite catch. Whatever it was, it was humourous for the two men and the Exceed chuckled loudly and even _he _cracked a smile, his frown twitching upwards to show off sharp teeth. The quiet _"gihi_" travelled through the tavern and hit him _hard_. Her soft tinkle followed swiftly after and it took all his self control not to push away from his table, storm over there and demand she hold him and never let go.

"We're idiots," Rogue mumbled, forcing his gaze away from them.

"Morons," Sting added, shaking his head as he too turned away, "especially you."

Cocking an eyebrow, Rogue turned to his friend, "why _especially _me?"

"You're s'posed to be the smart one," Sting said with a smirk, "I mean, aren't you always going on about how I need to think more?"

"Don't."

It wasn't clear if he was just oblivious to Rogue's words or if he simply didn't care (Rogue theorised it was the latter) but Sting continued on, his smirk growing wider with each second, "and yet _I _was the one who figured it out. Maybe _I'm _the smart one now?"

"Maybe when hell freezes over," Rogue mumbled, his voice drowned out slightly by Sting's loud laughter, "the only reason you figured it out before me is because it's a reality that totally defies _all _logic. Our being here totally defies _all _logic."

When Mavis had sent them into the past they'd never considered coming across their parents. And could you blame them? Two young boys too used to a world without anyone to care for them, they'd been too excited about the prospect of being in a world _not _desolate and destroyed, a world where they didn't have to watch the skies carefully, a world where the possibility of death wasn't around every corner.

"Excuses, excuses," Sting chuckled, "you met your old man years ago and didn't put two and two together."

"I was a kid," he grumbled, not liking this new air of superiority Sting had adopted, "he smelt different back then."

Sting nodded, oddly serious now, "I'll give you that one."

"Thanks."

The pair fell into a comfortable silence as they watched the minor havoc unfold in front of them. The Grand Magic Games had ended in a manner nobody could have predicted. The mages of Fairy Tail had shot forward like a bullet to snatch the coveted lead from them. Now they reigned triumphant, officially the strongest guild in the kingdom. The thought brought a smile to both Rogue and Sting's lips. There had been a time where not being in the official strongest guild would have felt like a physical blow to the gut. Now, it only brought a strange sense of happiness in both men. Things were changing.

With Jiemma gone, a new, yet still tentative, sense of camaraderie had been instilled in their guild, a promise of better days to come. The return of the missing Fairy Tail mages promised a new era of havoc and general madness, Fiore had not seen in seven years and Rogue couldn't help but chuckle as he wondered if the Council were truly prepared for what was to come.

And _then _there was the _parent issue_ as Rogue had taken to calling it.

"What're we going to do about it?" Sting asked suddenly, the blonds thoughts clearly mirroring his own. He had often wondered if their close proximity over the years had afforded them some odd telepathic abilities between themselves - Sting had laughed at him when he mentioned this and snorted, "_nah, I can just read you like a book_."

"What can we do?" he shrugged, his gaze drifting back towards his...his _parents_. They'd moved away from their corner and were now fully immersed in the throng of celebrating mages. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Frosch, hidden behind a pillar, watching his...his _fathers_, black Exceed carefully.

"Do we tell them?"

Rogue jerked his head back towards Sting, inhaling sharply as he went, "_what_?" he hissed, sure he had misheard.

"Do we tell them?" Sting repeated, shrugging a little, "let them know who we are, you know?"

Rogue chuckled dryly, "and say what? Hey Gajeel, Levy, I know we haven't got off to the best start but I'm your son. From the future. A future in which you both die and leave me alone," he scoffed a little, "_yeah_, that'll go down well."

"Don't need to be so _literal_," Sting scowled.

"We can't tell them. We don't know what it would change."

"Isn't that what we're here for?" Sting blew out a large breath of air in frustration, "to change everything? To make it so they _don't _die and the world doesn't go to shit? What's one more change going to do?"

Rogue had no immediate answer for his questions. It was true, they had been sent to this time to change the future. To ensure that the world wasn't destroyed by a horde of dragons. To stop all the death and destruction and create a world where they didn't grow up alone and afraid. But approaching their parents and informing them as to who they _were _exactly...it seemed taboo.

"We _can't_," he said resolutely, "we're here to stop the dragons, and that's it." He couldn't say he wasn't tempted, but fears of changing the future _too _drastically plagued his thoughts. He couldn't shake the idea that informing their parents of who they truly were would somehow create a future where they were not born. They'd not got off to a great start with any of their parents, he wondered what his mother thought of his behaviour.

"Doesn't mean we can't get to know them, right?"

"Eh?"

He turned to find Sting staring wistfully at Natsu and Lucy - he was in the process of trying to tempt her with a drink...a drink that appeared to be on fire. Rogue didn't miss the way his gaze had softened as he watched his parents interact with one another.

"We can get to know them, can't we? Just because we're not telling them who we are, doesn't mean we can't develop a relationship with them. I'd like to...I'd like to speak to them. _Properly."_

"Sting…"

"_What_?" he snapped, tearing his gaze from them to glare at Rogue, "we spent _years _alone Rogue, years without parents and now I have the chance to know them before all this _shit _happens, and you're telling me no?"

_Well_, when he put it like that, it did seem unreasonable on Rogue's behalf. He tugged his bottom lip between his teeth as he turned his attention back to his..._parents_. They'd separated now. He was talking to the blue haired woman he seemed friendly with, Juvia, whilst she was laughing with the brunette who had impressed them all, Cana. He'd be lying if he didn't admit he wasn't currently suppressing an urge to join them. It was as Sting had said, they'd spent years alone, to suddenly be shown their parents and be told they could have no undue contact with them felt oddly cruel. His stomach tensed at the thought of it.

"You _can't _let them know who you are," he warned.

"I won't, I won't," Sting muttered, "I just...I just want to know them a little better. D'you think they're together yet?"

Rogue shrugged, "possibly? Maybe not on a conscious level, but…" he nodded towards Natsu and Lucy, watching as the blonde laughed suddenly - Sting tensed - and leaned into Natsu's shoulder. Natsu responded by dropping his head gently on top of hers, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, "if they aren't, I'd say they're not far off."

Sting smiled, "what about yours?"

He smirked as he sought out his parents, they were by the door now, waving to their friends, new and old, as they pushed through the throng looking for the exit. A scoff escaped from his lips as he watched Gajeel gently poke her on the back to get her to hurry up.

"If they're not now," he said as they exited the tavern, the small Exceed fluttering off after them, "it won't be long before they are."

Sting leaned forwards, his eyes shining bright, "and that doesn't excite you? Don't you wanna see it happen? See how _we _happen? Not like _that_," Sting laughed, apparently reading correctly what Rogue's nose wrinkled in disgust meant, "I just...I wanna make memories with them. You know?"

"Yeah, yeah, I know," he agreed honestly, "just...be careful, remember what we were _actually _sent here to do."

Sting waved an airy hand, "I know, I know, kill some dragons, stop the total destruction of humanity as we know it, I _know_. Can't a guy have some fun while he's saving the world?"

Rogue laughed loudly at that, chucking his head back as the bark of laughter escaped from him, "yeah, yeah you can."

.

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**A/N: **Depending on whether or not you follow me on tumblr you may have noticed I'm very, very, _very_, fond of the Twin Paradox Slayers theory. If you've clicked onto this fic and have no idea what the theory is...in a nutshell: Sting and Rogue are Natsu x Lucy and Gajeel x Levy's sons from the future! Fab right?

Anyway I am extremely in love with the theory and have been sighing sadly about the lack of long fics about it, so I decided to unearth one I started writing before the canon basically said "nah" to the theory. So, for this fic please bare one thing in mind: _screw the canon_

Don't leave me any reviews saying this theory is impossible because yeah, yeah I've figured that out, but it's still a very fun theory and there's a corner of my heart that believes Mashima intended to do something with it, but it got scrapped by his editors due to how crazy that arc was getting anyway…

This part of the fandom is nowhere near as large as the Gajevy fandom so I'm not expecting many reviews - in a way I'm just writing this to satisfy my own selfish needs I guess - but if you _do _read this I would be very very grateful if you review and let me know your thoughts!

This fic is going to be more Rogue and Gajeel and Levy-centric but will feature a healthy amount of Sting and Lucy and Natsu bonding don't worry! I've just found my comfort zone in the Redfox family…

Anyway, hope you enjoyed and please review!


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